Method of preserving wood.



No. 68I,032. Patented Aug. 20, l90l.

' A. BEVIER.

METHOD OF PRESERVING W000.

(Application filed Nov. 1, 1899.)

("'0 Model.)

INVENTOI? Mm ATTORNEYS.

ANDRIES BEVIER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FFICE.

PATENT ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO EVERSLEY GHILDS, OF SAYVILLE, NEW YORK.

METHOD OF PRESERVING WOOD.

SPECIFICATION formingpart Of Letters Patent NO. 681,032, dated August20, 1901. Application filed November 1, 1899. Serial No. 735,492. (Nospecimens.)

T otZZ whom it may concern:

. ficial, drying process.

Be it known that I, ANDRIEs BEVIER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the countyand State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Method ofPreserving Wood, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The object of my invention is to so prepare wood by injecting into it acombination'or mixture of creosote with other compounds that it willresist the attacks of animal and vegetable life, and thereby prevent thedecay to which Wood is liable.

p The invention consists in the novel steps of the method, as will behereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

The drawing represents a plan View of a plant used in earring out themethod.

The method consists, first, in subjecting the wood to a heat of 212Fahrenheit and upward without pressure, thereby evaporating moisture anddrying the wood-an arti- After subjection to this treatment for from oneto five hours, based upon the size and condition of the timber, thetemperature is raised from 250 to 500 Fahrenheit and an air-pressurefrom one hundred totwo hundred pounds is applied, sufficient to preventthe loss of volatile materialfrom the wood by further evaporation,thereby retaining in the wood such antiseptic materials as may be formedby the action of the heat upon the fluids of the wood and diffusion ofresinous matter, which upon cooling solidifies and hermetically sealsall the pores. The result of this treatment is to thoroughly sterilizethe wood, coagulate the albuminous material of the sap, diffuse theresin, and harden the timber, at the same time leaving the wood in sucha condition that it will readily absorb the antiseptic liquid to besubsequently introduced, which on account of its great viscosity (sinceit contains creosote -oil) is very refractory to ordinary impregnationtreatment.

While the methodup to this point effectually protects the wood frominternal decay, it still leaves the materialliable to decay from outsidesources. In order to guard against this, the wood is. subjected to thefollowing treatment: The wood is immersed in a liquid consisting of amixture of creosote-oil and resin, the percentage of resin ranging fromten to ninety per cent, according to the requirements and uses inparticular cases. The antiseptic properties of this mixture are stillfurther strengthened by the addition of formaldehyde in quantitiessufficient to counterbalance the diluting effect of the resin upon thecreosote. By creosote-oil I mean .coaltar creosote, also known under thename of dead oil of tar. By formaldehyde I mean commercialformaldehyde-that is, a solution of the gaseous formaldehyde in water.This antiseptic may be'used in proportions varying within wide limits,one per cent. of formaldehyde being a suitable proportion in many cases.The addition of the resin is for the purpose of hardening the wood,rendering it waterproof and absolutely preventing the washingout of theantiseptic material. As an example of the proportions used according tomy invention I would mention those adopted when treating railroad-ties,paving-blocks, &c., intended for use in the northeastern section of theUnited States or in regions of a similar climatecreosote, forty percent. resin, fifty-eight per cent. formaldehyde, two per cent. however,that the proportions will vary considerably according to the differentuses for which wood is intended and according to the various climaticand other conditions to which it will be exposed. In order to cause theliquid to be properly absorbed by the wood, it is heated to atemperature of from 150 to 300 Fahrenheit, care being taken not to raisethe temperature to such a degree to injure the fiber, and a hydraulicpressure of from one hundred to four hundred pounds is placed upon theproduct and maintained thereon from one to six hours, these conditionsbeing varied according to the size and nature of the timber and theamount of antiseptic material to be injected. If the liquid were removedWhile under this high temperature, the liquid would be so mobile thatnone would be left upon the surface of the wood and any cracks existingin the wood would be emptied, leaving exposedsurfaces and receptacles tohold moisture carrying germs of decay. To pre- It will be understood,

vent this, the charge referred to is first cooled by the circulation ofcold air through the sys tem of pipes jacketing the cylinders, the airhaving previously been cooled by passing through another system ofwaterjacketed pipes. Then the temperature of the charge has been loweredto from 90 to 140 Fahrenheir, the liquid has become so viscous that itwill remain adhering to the wood, filling all the cracks and leaving thesurface in a sticky condition. The cylinders are now emptied of theliquid-for the final treatment for the purpose of more completelyhardening the wood. This hardening is produced by thoroughly forcinginto and mixing with the previously-injected material a mixture ofresinate of lime and turpentine. This on cooling will produce a hardelastic surface absolutely impervious to both air and water, the resultbeing a wood increased in hardness with an increased resistance tocrushing, absolutely sterilized, and hermetically sealed by an insolubleantiseptic material.

A final hardening treatment may also be conductedas follows: Aftercooling instead of forcing in the resinate-of-lime and turpen tinemixture the timber is taken out and placed in the second cylinder, whereit is subjected to the action of hot milk of lime under pressure. Inthis manner the same results are obtained as have been described.

Although any suitable apparatus may be employed for carrying out themethod, I have presented one form of the apparatus in the drawing, inwhich A represents high-pressure boilers adapted to produce the steamused in the process, the boilers being used in connectionwith tanks orcylinders A, in which the wood is placed to be treated. Two or more ofsuch tanks or cylinders can be used, provided with suitable doors 10. gV

B represents air-compressors which furnish the air-pressure used in themethod, and O represents air-receivers which receive theair before it isconducted to the treating-cylinders. Pipes 11 lead from the receivers Qthrough condensers D to the cylinders A and are provided withregulating-valves H. A branch pipe 12 leads around the condenser and isprovided with a regulating-valve 13. Aircirculating pipes 14 are carriedfrom the treating-cylinders A through a fan E and a reheater F totherear end of the treating-cylindersA. The pipes 14, connecting thetreating-cylinders A, are provided with suitable valves 16, and avacuum-pump G is used in connection with the cylinders A, connected withthe cylinders A by pipes 17, provided with valves 18.

H represents a hydraulic-pressure pump which is connected with thetreating-cylinders A by means of a pipe 19, having stopvalves 20.Storage-tanks I are also used for storing and mixing liquids used in themethod, and pumps K, of any suitable construction, are used for pumpingthe liquids. k V

L represents a melting-furnace for melting the resin, the furnace andthe storage-tanks I being connected by pipes 21, having valves 22, whilepipes 23 are employed for connecting the storage-tanks with thetreating-cylinders A, and said pipes are provided with valves 24, nearthe storage-tanks, and valves 25, near the treating-cylinders. All ofthe pipe connections shown are made in any manner known to the art.

Each pump K'is connected with a treatingcylinder A by two pipes havingindependent valves, so that either pipe may be brought into service asrequired, one pipe being adapted to conduct resinate of lime and theother pipe the resin-creosote mixture, so that either one or the otherof these materials may be fed to the cylinders as occasion may re quire.v

The wood ispiled on cars and run into the cylinders A on iron tracks,for example. The doors 10 are then closedand steam is admitted to thesteam-coils. The heat is regulated by thermometers employed to indicatetheproper temperature to which the wood is to be subjected. During thisoperation the moisture evaporating from the wood is allowed to escapeintothe atmosphere. hen the heat has been applied to the wood for theproper length of time, its duration depending upon the nature of thewood to be treated, an air-pressure of from one hundred to four hundredpounds is applied to the air-pipes 11. The heat is then raised, and whenthe temperature and pressure have reached a certain maximum point theyare kept there from one to five hours, after which the temperature isgrad ually lowered and the cylinders are blown off. The mixture ofcreosote and resin is then pumped in by meansof the tank-pumps K, andhydraulic pressure is applied by means of the pressure-pump H, and afterremaining under this pressure for a proper length of time, as heretoforedescribed, the steam is cut off and cold air circulated by means of thecompressors B through coolers or condensers D to the coils in thecylinders A.

Having thus described my invention, 1 1

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentr 1. The hereindescribed method for the treatment of wood, which consists in subjecting the Wood to the action of a mixture of creosote-oil and resin,heating the wood thus treated, and subjecting it to hydraulic pressure,cooling the product thus obtained ren= dering the antiseptic materialviscous and hardening the wood, further hardening the wood by forcing orproducing therein while heated, a metallic resinate in sufficientquantities to provide an exterior coating, and finally permitting theproduct thus obtained to cool, producing thereon a hard elastic outersurface.

2. The herein-described method for the treatment'of lumber to preserveit against decay, increase its hardness and sterilize it, therebykilling all living matter, which method consists in removing themoisture, introducing into the wood an antiseptic mixture ofcreosote-oil with resin in such proportion that the wood is hermeticallysealed, and with another antiseptic of the nature of formaldehyde, andfinally treating the product with a metallic resinate as described.

3. The herein-described method for the treatment of lumber to preserveit against decay, increase its hardness and sterilize it, therebykilling all living matter, which method consists in removing themoisture, introducing into the wood an antiseptic mixture of the natureof creosote-oil with resin in such proportion that the Wood ishermetically sealed, supplying to the mixture such antiseptic qualitiesas formaldehyde may possess,

in quantities that may be necessary, also treating the wood withresinate of lime in combination with a material imparting to it theproperty of being readily incorporated with the antiseptic mixtureinjected into the wood, whereby dense resinous timber is rendered asabove stated.

4:. The process of treating Wood which consists'in first subjecting itwithin a suitable vessel to a dry heat of about 212 Fahrenheit, thenincreasing the temperature and pressure whereby the native gums andresins are melted and the Wood is rendered highly reoeptive ofimpregnating liquids, and then in the same heat and same vessel whilethe wood is in' this highly-receptive condition and the gums and resinsin a melted condition, impregnating the same under pressure with apreservative mixture containing creosote substantially as described.

5. The herein-described process for preserving Wood, which consists intreating it with a mixture of creosote, resin and formaldehyde, and thenapplying a calcium compound thereto.

6. The herein-described process for preserving wood, which consists intreating it with a mixture of creosote, resin and formaldehyde,'and thenapplying resinate'of lime thereto.

7. The herein-described method for the treatment of lumber to preserveit against decay, increase its hardness and sterilize it, therebykilling all living matter, which method consists in removing themoisture, introducing into the wood an antiseptic mixture of the natureof creosote-oil with resin in such proportions that the wood ishermetically sealed, supplying to the mixture such antiseptic qualitiesas formaldehyde may possess, in quantities that may be necessary, alsotreating the wood with resinate of lime.

S. The method of preserving lumber which consists in freeing it frommoisture, then im-* pregnating it with a preservative, and there name tothis specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. ANDRIESBEVIER.

Witnesses:

J. FRED. ACKEE, A. NEsTER.

